Writing Characters: Creating a useful character profile

Think of a house. Think of your house. Think of the features you like the most about your home. The patio, the ensuite bathrooms, the heated driveway? Think of how those individual features were created and how they fit together to make a complete home. 

Those features were only made possible because your house was built according to a blueprint. The blueprint dictates the details of a structure, even details and features that are not readily visible but are instrumental to making a house habitable. Architects, engineers and builders worked hand-in-hand to construct your home, referring to and altering the blueprint when needed.

A character profile is a blueprint.

A character profile encompasses every aspect of a character’s existence. Character profiles are comprehensive blueprints writers use to construct their characters. Just like a builder, character profiles act as a guide for writers, ensuring cohesiveness among individual traits and habits.

What does a character profile contain?

Like a blueprint, character profiles can be created in numerous ways. I took technical drawing in secondary school and I remain amazed at the sheer number of ways there are to stencil and draw and interpret the blueprint of a house. However, no matter the variation you choose to adopt, they must all contain certain crucial elements.

The first is what I like to describe as the basics. This includes the simplest information you have on your characters. Like their name, age, and gender.

(From the Comprehensive Writing Dashboard. Download the Notion template here.)

The second is the physicality of your character. What do they look like? Height, (weight?) hair colour, eye colour, face shape and other distinguishing features like scars, limps, and accents come in here.

Personality traits must also be included. What are your character's strengths? What are your character’s weaknesses? Do they have tics? Are they religious? Are they political? What are their idiosyncrasies?

Explore their past and their relationships with others. How are they viewed in the society? Are they seen as troublemakers? Are they looked up to? What significant event occurred in their past? Any significant romantic relationships, past or present?

(From the Comprehensive Writing Dashboard. Download the Notion template here.)

Consider their motivations and their goals. What are they striving to achieve? Dive deep into their psychology.

Lastly, construct a detailed backstory, explaining how their experiences shaped the person they are today and how that pushes the storyline forward.

What not to do when creating a character profile

The biggest challenge to constructing a good character profile is knowing where to stop.

Do you include your character’s favourite colour or not? What is their favourite song/band?

While these details might be interesting, if they do not contribute to the narrative, you might want to skip them when crafting the initial profile. The good thing about character profiles is that they are blueprints, not buildings.

They can be reviewed and revised. Polished and altered.

It is always good to start with a basic character profile and refine it as the writing progresses. Strike the right balance.

Summary

Prioritise relevant details that contribute to character development or plot progression. These include the basics, physicality, motivation and psychology of the character.

Do not include details for the sake of quantity. Every aspect should add value to the character's complexity or narrative.

Download the Comprehensive Writing Dashboard here and start crafting your characters.